Podcast · Tech & Science

The Human Progress Podcast

by HumanProgress.org · English · Tech & Science

Hosted by Marian L. Tupy and Chelsea Follett

New episodes: Monthly
Typical length: 58 min
Latest: 13 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

13 Oct 2026 · 59 minNew

Agency and the Making of History | Martin Seligman | Ep. 86

Why do some civilizations flourish while others stagnate? Martin Seligman, a psychologist, author, and founder of the modern positive psychology movement, suggests that the answer may lie not just in institutions or technology, but in what people believe they can achieve. In his latest book, Agency: The Psychological History of Human Progress , Seligman argues that agency, the belief in our ability to shape the future, has been a powerful driver of innovation and human progress. In this episode of The Human Progress Podcast, our research fellow Adam Omary and Cato Institute senior fellow…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

30 Sep 2026 · 47 min
The Mental Health Paradox | Jonathan Alpert | Ep. 85
Americans have never been more aware of mental health. Therapy is more accessible, psychiatric diagnoses are more common, and the language of trauma and self-care has entered everyday life. Yet by many measures, mental health in America appears to be worsening. In his new book, Therapy Nation: How America Got Hooked on Therapy and Why It’s Left Us More Anxious and Divided , psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert argues that the mental health profession may be partly responsible for that paradox. In this episode of The Human Progress Podcast, our research fellow Adam Omary speaks with Alpert about…
11 Sep 2026 · 52 min
Growth vs. Redistribution in the Fight Against Poverty | Kevin Corinth | Ep. 84
The United States has spent decades trying to reduce poverty through an expanding social safety net. But how much of the country’s progress against poverty is thanks to that redistribution, and how much has come from economic growth?In a recent paper, American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Kevin Corinth and economist Richard Burkhauser examine nearly a century of American poverty trends. They find that poverty was already falling rapidly before the War on Poverty began, when government transfers played a much smaller role and rising market incomes drove much of the improvement.In this…
18 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 11 min
How Markets Make Us Better People | Walker Wright | Ep. 83
Our research fellow Chelsea Follett speaks with Walker Wright about the moral character of markets, the relationship between economic freedom and good behavior, the effects of commerce on prejudice and violence, and why buying and selling from one another may help make us better people.
31 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 1 min
Progress and the Price System | Brian Albrecht | Ep. 82
Our editor Marian Tupy speaks with economist Brian Albrecht about the role of prices in modern prosperity. They discuss why price controls fail, whether scarcity can ever truly disappear, the difference between large companies and monopolies, price discrimination, and the underappreciated ways in which competitive markets enrich our lives. Dr. Brian C. Albrecht is the chief economist at the International Center for Law & Economics and author of the Economic Forces newsletter .
10 Jul 2026 · 55 min
The Myth of American Decline | Michael Strain | Ep. 81
Our managing editor Chelsea Follett speaks with economist Michael Strain about the myth of American decline and the dangers of populism. They discuss the rise of populism on the left and right, the evidence that American living standards have improved, why inequality does not explain today’s political discontent, and how policies built on a false diagnosis of national failure could undermine the prosperity and opportunity they promise to restore.
12 Jun 2026 · 35 min
Rethinking the Gilded Age | Brian Domitrovic | Ep. 80
The Gilded Age has become one of the most common analogies for our own time, invoked as shorthand for economic inequality and political corruption. But that comparison misses much of what made the period extraordinary. After the Civil War, the United States experienced an incredible period of economic growth that completely transformed American life and landscapes. In this episode of The Human Progress Podcast, economic historian Brian Domitrovic joins our managing editor Chelsea Follett to discuss why the conventional story of the Gilded Age is incomplete, how industrialization made…
26 May 2026 · 55 min
The System That Feeds Us | Jan Dutkiewicz | Ep. 79
The industrial food system is often treated as a symbol of everything people distrust about modernity: too processed, too corporate, too artificial, and too detached from land and labor. That critique obscures one of the greatest achievements in human history: modern food production has made food cheaper, safer, more abundant, and more varied than ever before. In this episode of The Human Progress Podcast, Adam Omary speaks with political scientist Jan Dutkiewicz about his new book Feed the People: Why Industrial Food Is Good and How We Can Make It Even Better . They discuss the great…
8 May 2026 · 56 min
What Climate Science Really Says | Roger Pielke Jr. | Ep. 78
Roger Pielke Jr. joins Marian Tupy to discuss the latest climate research and how to think clearly about climate change.
24 Apr 2026 · 59 min
America's Turn Against Markets | Samuel Gregg | Ep. 77
Samuel Gregg joins Chelsea Follett to discuss the rise of a more interventionist economic consensus and the case for markets in modern America. Check out his book, The Next American Economy: Nation, State, and Markets in an Uncertain World .
24 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 3 min
Meaning and Morality in the Modern Age | Steven Pinker | Ep. 76
Steven Pinker joins Marian Tupy to discuss the so-called "crisis of meaning," the decline of religion, and what can give life purpose in a modern, largely secular world.
27 Feb 2026 · 1 hr 12 min
Discontent in the Age of Plenty | Brink Lindsey | Ep. 75
Our editor Marian Tupy speaks with writer and policy scholar Brink Lindsey about his new book The Permanent Problem: The Uncertain Transition from Mass Plenty to Mass Flourishing . They discuss why material abundance produces dissatisfaction, the decline of marriage and community, bureaucratic stagnation, and the cultural and institutional innovations needed to produce mass satisfaction without scarcity.
10 Feb 2026 · 1 hr 11 min
Environmentalism Without Degrowth | Zion Lights | Ep. 74
Environmentalists often claim that solving climate change requires scarcity: less energy, less consumption, and less economic growth. Zion Lights, a former radical environmentalist, now argues the opposite—that energy abundance is necessary for both thriving human societies and environmental protection. Her latest book, Energy Is Life , tells the story of her journey from Extinction Rebellion activist to outspoken advocate for nuclear power. In this episode of The Human Progress Podcast, Zion Lights joins Chelsea Follett to discuss how modern environmentalism became fixated on scarcity, how…
23 Jan 2026 · 59 min
The Pattern Behind History's Golden Ages | Johan Norberg | Ep. 73
Johan Norberg examines the conditions that create human flourishing and why golden ages so often come to an end. Buy his book, Peak Human .
9 Jan 2026 · 1 hr 17 min
The Misdiagnosis of American Mental Health | Chris Ferguson | Ep. 72
Psychologist Chris Ferguson joins Adam Omary to discuss American mental health, cognitive biases, and the dangers of narrative overreach. Buy his book, Catastrophe!: How Psychology Explains Why Good People Make Bad Situations Worse .Read his article on loneliness .
19 Dec 2025 · 1 hr 1 min
American Poverty Is a Measurement Problem | Scott Winship | Ep. 71
Scott Winship joins Marian Tupy to discuss how bad measurement choices distort the picture of poverty and inequality in the United States.
8 Dec 2025 · 54 min
The New Right Manufactures Misery | Yaron Brook | Ep. 70
Yaron Brook joins Marian Tupy to discuss the pessimistic populism of the New Right.
14 Nov 2025 · 54 min
Milei Midterms: An Update on Argentina | Marcos Falcone | Ep. 69
Policy analyst Marcos Falcone joins Chelsea Follett to discuss Milei’s recent electoral success and the economic reforms he might pursue using this new political leverage.
9 Oct 2025 · 1 hr 13 min
How Liberty Made Progress Possible | Peter Boettke | Ep. 68
Peter Boettke joins Marian Tupy to examine the institutional foundations of the modern world. Check out his book, The Historical Path to Liberty and Human Progress .
26 Sep 2025 · 43 min
Authoritarian Threats to Campus Free Speech | Sarah McLaughlin | Ep. 67
Sarah McLaughlin joins Chelsea Follett to discuss the rising influence of foreign authoritarian governments on college campuses. Check out her book, Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech . Please note that we recorded this interview before Kirk’s murder, so he is not mentioned, though we believe that event makes conversations like this one even more relevant.
29 Aug 2025 · 35 min
Growth Comes From Ideas, Not Degrees | Bryan Caplan | Ep. 66
Bryan Caplan joins Marian Tupy to discuss the relationship between formal education and innovation. Check out his book, The Case against Education .
8 Aug 2025 · 58 min
Is Progress Making Us Miserable? | Tim Lomas | Ep. 65
Psychology researcher Tim Lomas joins Chelsea Follett to explore surprising global trends in happiness, meaning, mental health, and more.
18 Jul 2025 · 1 hr 12 min
The False History of American Capitalism | Donald Boudreaux | Ep. 64
Economist Donald Boudreaux joins Marian Tupy to discuss important misconceptions about American economic history and why it’s crucial to set the record straight. Learn more in his book, The Triumph of Economic Freedom: Debunking the Seven Great Myths of American Capitalism .
20 Jun 2025 · 1 hr 3 min
Why the West Turned on Itself | Maarten Boudry | Ep. 63
Philosopher and author Maarten Boudry joins Chelsea Follett to examine the cultural and ideological roots of Western anti-Western sentiment.
30 May 2025 · 56 min
Progress, Classical Liberalism, and the New Right | Tyler Cowen | Ep. 62
Tyler Cowen joins Marian Tupy to discuss the New Right, the relationship between freedom and progress, and whether classical liberalism is equipped to meet today's political challenges.
23 May 2025 · 48 min
Open Societies and Closed Minds | Matt Johnson | Ep. 61
Marian Tupy speaks with writer and political thinker Matt Johnson about historicism, progress, and how tribalism and the “desire for recognition” are testing the foundations of open societies.
2 May 2025 · 58 min
Promoting Parenthood in a Free Society | Stephanie Murray | Ep. 60
Stephanie Murray joins Chelsea Follett to discuss discourse around falling birth rates, the tension between pro-natalism and classical liberal values, and how it might be resolved.
14 Mar 2025 · 55 min
An Update on the Trump Tariffs | Scott Lincicome | Ep. 59
Scott Lincicome joins Marian Tupy to discuss how President Trump's trade policies will affect American prosperity, national security, government revenue, and industry.
12 Mar 2025 · 52 min
Global Trade Has Made Us Richer | Daniel Griswold | Ep. 58
Daniel Griswold, the former director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Trade Policy Studies, joins Chelsea Follett to discuss the true legacy of globalization.
7 Feb 2025 · 1 hr 12 min
The Psychology of Progress | Clay Routledge | Ep. 57
Existential psychologist Clay Routledge joins Chelsea Follett to discuss how Americans think about the future, recent trends in mental health, the alleged "crisis of meaning," and how nostalgia can drive progress.

About The Human Progress Podcast

Hosted by Marian L. Tupy and Chelsea Follett

The Human Progress Podcast is a English tech & science podcast from HumanProgress.org. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: HumanProgress.org
Language: English
Category: Tech & Science
New episodes: Monthly
Typical length: 58 min
Latest episode: 13 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1583572211
Rights: HumanProgress.org

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